KITCHEN TABLE CHATS

Pull up a chair in my domestic church and let's chat!

I have worn many labels (Not in any particular order): Catholic, Wife, Mom,Gramma, Doctor, Major, Soccer Mom, Military Wife, Professor, Fellow.All of these filter my views of the world. I hope that like St. Monica, I can through prayer, words and example, lead my children and others to Faith.

"The important thing is that we do not let a single day go by in vain without putting it to good use for eternity"--Blessed Franz Jägerstätter

Another troubling aspect to this website is the presence of two people who hold dissident views at their Evangelical Catholic Institute. This is more significant because they only had three speakers at each institute. The first is Fr. Jim Bacik, a proponent of women's ordination who believes abortion should not be criminalized, and the second is Dr. William Portier, who attacks the Church's teaching on contraception among other things in his book "Creative Fidelity".

Interestingly, the presence of these questionable associates does not seem to be the main bone of contention in the rather fiery discussion that ensues. Using the word “evangelical” just pushes some people over the edge. They envision this group’s message as a push for more “fellowship” and “happy-clappy” liturgies. Evangelical is just one of those words that can raise red flags in much the same way “Spirit of Vatican II” does. I do understand this. Often when we have an Evangelical movement pushing us to form a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” it sounds like we become our own “magisterium”. The teaching authority of the Church, the real Magisterium, is left out of the equation. I know I worry that a group that is worried about numbers may be tempted to water down the message and make it more “friendly” in an effort to grow the flock.

Yet we really shouldn’t flee from the word “evangelical”. We are unquestionably called to evangelize. I view this blog as a form of evangelization. Wearing a crucifix or Marian medal is a form of evangelization. Talking about my relationships with the saints is a form of evangelization. Sharing my relationship with Christ, specifically through the Eucharist is evangelization. The key is my evangelization never separates Christ from His Church. I think that is the fear some are trying to express as they vehemently denounce the idea of Evangelical Catholics. They fear the personal relationship with Christ is being touted as something distinct from the Catholic Church.

I am not going to pass judgment on the Evangelical Catholic Institute. I will say that including speakers that publicly oppose the Magisterium does not encourage me to utilize their services. There are many other groups that are completely and unquestionably loyal to the Magisterium for me to waste my time sifting through their materials double-checking their orthodoxy.

I never like descriptive adjectives to precede the label Catholic. We are Catholic—period. Evangelical Catholic sounds like it is something new and different. We have been called to evangelize since the time of the Apostles. Perhaps this group would stir less controversy if they emphasized their Catholicity more. If they were called the Catholic Evangelization Institute they would be less vague about their mission: to spread the message of Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and teach others how to do it as well.

5 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I think you summed it up perfectly. The approach of both the Evangelical Catholic Institute and the St. Catherine of Siena Institute tends to separate Christ from His Church. That is why I don't think we should use the word "Evangelical". In addition, the word is too closely associated with fundamentalist Christians, whose readings of Scripture, "ecclesiologies," etc., are in direct contradiction to that of Roman Catholicism. Of course, the Catholic Church is "evangelical" and always has been, but at present, for want of a better term, I'm using "missionizatio." I know it's awkward, but at least it's not "evangelical."

One thing about both of these Institutes that bothers me is their presumption that Roman Catholics do not have a direct, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If that is the case, then what about the rather high incidence of prayer, the Mass, contemplation, Benediction, et al.? Every authentically orthodox Catholic document speaks of the centrality of the liturgy as the way by which we know Jesus and are enabled to pray to Him, which is the most effective personal relationship with have with Him. Simply talking about our relationship with Jesus is hardly a personal relationship.

Denise, did you see my blog today? Late last night, I noticed a Zenith article about Catholics and Religious Literacy. Actually, how iliterate nearly half of the Catholics!! One of the sources for the failure is the Religious education the parishes are providing. The article referred to them as "Touchy-feely" and not doing the job. Now, my question here is, when are the "Duh Awards" being nominated!??EbethStill Climbing!

I am very familiar with the Evangelical Catholic Institute. I am a college student in Arkansas, and for our Catholic Campus MInistry state convention, we had a speaker from the Evangelical Catholic Institute. He was nothing like you described in your post. Im not saying those things exists, but not everyone in that organization is bad. He was an awesome speaker, and helped us all to understand and better utilize our Catholic faith.

Jacob,I mentioned The Evangelical Catholic Institute because it had been brought up in other blogs. When I speak about concerns over the label "Evangelical Catholic" it is in more a generic sense, not directed at a specific group. I do think any group that professes to be Catholic should be conscientious that its speakers are unquestionably loyal to the Magisterium. Otherwise their credibility is seriously compromised.

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